How to avoid rip-off rates and costly cash

TransferWise

02.03.20

3 minute read

Are you planning a trip? Perhaps you've moved country, or about to? Don’t get stung by nasty fees and even nastier rates. Banks, brokers and PayPal are more expensive than they look. TransferWise is a smarter, cheaper and easier way to send and spend internationally.

How can you tell if you’re getting stung by bad rates and hidden fees?

When you send or spend money internationally, banks and brokers mark up the exchange rate.

That bad rate can cost you 5% or more of the amount you’re sending—on top of any fees they charge. Here’s how:

Most people simply aren’t aware of this, however. That's because it’s nearly impossible to compare providers—the bad rates they give you are like an extra, hidden charge.

In fact, this problem costs people and small businesses billions of dollars in unfair foreign exchange fees every year.

How can you save when you convert your dollars?

At TransferWise, we're on a mission to eradicate all those unfair fees. Our account lets you send, spend, and get paid internationally for a fraction of the cost —with the real exchange rate and no hidden fees.

We never use an exchange rate mark-up. Instead, we convert your money at the real, mid-market exchange rate, and we show our full fees upfront – so more of your money gets to the other side.

A fraction of the cost compared to a bank or broker.

That’s why over 6 million customers use TransferWise to transfer billions of dollars a month between over 70 countries, saving over $1 billion a year in foreign exchange fees.

Our prices vary between currencies. Find out how much your transfer would cost here, in this nifty calculator:

Or you can compare prices with other providers on our comparison tool—if we're not the cheapest option, we'll let you know. Transparency really is the name of the game.

1 account, 40 currencies, and a bright green card.

You can sign up for a free account on TransferWise.com, or in our iOS and Android apps. You can set up your transfers, manage your balances in 40 different currencies in a few clicks.

Some of our transfers even arrive instantly, but it varies between currencies. We’ll let you know how long yours will take when you set it up, and we’ll keep you updated via email each step of the way.

You even get local bank details in 30 countries so you can get paid like a local, fee-free.

And if you are eligible, why not sign up for our travel card? We send you instant alerts on all your payments, and you can freeze and unfreeze your card in a single click, if you’re worried you’ve lost it. And, of course, you always get that great rate—beats all those ATM fees, hey? Find out more here.